Birgitte Kallestad, 24, died after contracting rabies from stray dog she tried to help while in the Philippines, her family said.
(Facebook)

After washing and grooming the puppy, the family said that Kallestad and her friends played with it, sustaining minor bites and scratches. Kallestad, a health worker back in Norway, was said to have cleared and sterilized the cuts but did not seek further medical attention because they were so small.

After returning to Norway, Kallestad fell ill and was hospitalized several times as doctors scrambled to figure out what was wrong with her. She died Monday at the hospital where she worked more than two months after coming in contact with the puppy.

“Our dear Birgitte loved animals,” her family said in a statement, the BBC reported. “Our fear is that this will happen to others who have a warm heart like her.”